A Feminine Vibe
by Ad Astra Per Alia Porci
Summary: A postep for Gum Drops. Just some extra NS interaction. Please R&R. Oneshot


A/N: This is for Forensicsfan. I hope you like it... I hope you all like it. Let me know. Thanks for reading.  
Warning: This is a fic based on 6x05: Gum Drops, so it's chocked full of spoilers.

* * *

Sucking in one last breath for courage, Sara Sidle firmly pressed number two on her speed-dial and placed the cell phone to her ear. As she listened to the ringing she exhaled slowly. There was a quiver in her chin and a faint sting behind her eyes as she thought about what she was about to do. Her goal was to tell Nick as gently as possible while remaining firm. He wouldn't want to believe her, so she couldn't give him any doubt. Her voice had to be strong and the message had to be delivered matter-of-factly. 

That was going to be the tough part: be unwavering while she knew what her words were going to do to her partner, her friend. "Stokes," he picked up after four rings. His voice was strong and hopeful, and it broke Sara's heart to know that she was going to destroy that in a minute. "Hello?" Nick continued when she hadn't replied.

"Yeah. Hey." Her voice caught in her throat; so much for unwavering. Hearing his encouraged voice brought up unbidden images of Nick earlier today; the small smile on his lips as he confided he that he expected to find Cassie alive and the optimistic look in his eyes for the same reason. She was reminded of the soft, hopeful tone that his voice had used. Really, the same tone he had been using since she first arrived with his coffee.

"Hey Sar," she could hear his smile. She couldn't do it; she couldn't tell him that Cassie was dead. She could justify withholding it if he called her on it later, after all the Daniels kid hadn't actually said the words to make the murder definite. "…but we found her!" She realized that Nick had continued talking while she was making her decision. She only heard the last four words and it took her a minute for their meaning to sink in.

"Nicky, I'm so sorry, I know how much--" Sara spoke quickly and solemnly. Had she been paying more attention to his delivery she would have recognized the victorious ring to his words.

"No, she's alive! Sara, Cassie's alive!" he cut her off excitedly.

"Wha-- no, I just spoke with Lou Daniels… heslit her throat." She didn't want to be so blunt but she had to let him know. It was one thing for him tobelieve that the little girl still had a chance, but she couldn't let him believe that she was actuallyalive and safe. It'd destroy him whenever they finally found her body.

"He did, but he didn't kill her!" he insisted. "I found her Sara! I'm following the ambulance to the hospital right now; meet me there as soon as you can!"

"I—uh—sure, I'm on my way," thoroughly confused and still slightly sceptical Sara just numbly went along with what he was saying. She hoped it was true, for his sake.

"Great! I'll see you in a few!" With that, he clicked off his phone.

* * *

"Nick," Sara shouted as she spotted him halfway down the hallway. He momentarily stilled his leg, which had been bouncing nervously as he sat perched on the edge of a plastic chair, and turned towards his name. When he saw Sara start to jog he stood up and let a grin take over his face. He unclasped his hands, which he'd been wringing together while waiting for any word from the OR about Cassie's condition. He hurried towards her, matching her pace. Without another word between them he opened his arms and she walked into them. He began to envelope her in his arms when she suddenly jumped back, looking down at her clothes in dismay. A number of splotches on her clothes were couple shades darker than the rest. "Ahh," she gasped involuntarily as she felt a sudden chill on her hip. She looked over and found Nick's hand there. 

"Sorry," he chuckled lightly as he reacted to his touch. He started to remove his hand but she stopped him with a hand overtop of it and gripped the sleeve of his shirt with her other. His dark clothes were absolutely drenched.

"You're soaked," she stated as if he didn't already know this.

His smile widened with his answer, "I jumped in the water to get her."

"Where is she now?" Sara turned serious, still unsure whether to believe that the little girl was actually alive.

"In the OR." Relief flew out of his mouth as he spoke, "They think she's going to be okay." His voice cracked with emotion and she couldn't help herself. This time Sara ignored the icy moister that seeped into her clothes as she slipped her arms under his and wrapped herself around Nick's waist. He quickly followed suit, spreading one hand over the small of her back and the other in between her shoulder blades, his biceps resting on top of hers. He moved his higher hand slowly to and fro on her back.

Sara did her best to keep quiet but couldn't resist the question for long. "How?" she asked softly from her position beside his ear. She hated that the disbelief was still in her voice.

"Who cares?" he replied in a near whisper. She pulled back from him and, to prevent looking down and see the damage the water did to her clothes, she looked into his face. He looked so ... peaceful. They were spaced apart now but still within arm distance.

"I know it doesn't really matter… it's just--"

"You can't stand not knowing something," he smirked as he finished the thought off for her. She shrugged and pursed her lips to prevent the sheepish smile. His smirk dissolved into a small content smile as he looked her in the eye. "It wasn't her day," he returned to the genuine tone that he had used over lunch. His eyes began to water slightly.

"You're right," Sara smiled, trying to control the quiver that had returned to her chin. "It's not her day." They looked at each other, a silent understanding passing between them. After a moment Sara cleared her throat, "So, do you know how long they're going to be operating?"

He nodded as he replied, "The doc said it'd probably take them an hour, give or take, to get everything sorted out… but they don't really know the extent of her injuries so that's just a ball-park guess."

"Then how about we wait just to grab her clothes, and any other evidence they have, and head back to the motel?" Nick started to protest but Sara wouldn't hear it. "You need to warm up and get into some dry clothes. Besides, there's not much use in waiting around here. Even if she's fixed up in an hour we'd still have to wait for her to wake up and after all that she's been through, who knows how long that will be?" He seemed to be considering this. "We can tell the nurse to notify you as soon as Cassie wakes up; then not only will you be able to get back here right away but you'll also get a phone call from a nurse..." Sara teased and trailed off suggestively.

Nick laughed and she knew she had won. "Fine," he feigned exasperation.

"You're such a man whore," Sara giggled.

"Hey!" he raised his hands innocently. "I'm not doing it for the nurse; that's Warrick's thing now. I just want to get out of these clothes."

Sara burst out laughing. "Yeah, I know. Man whore." Nick smiled, clearly defeated, and shook his head amusedly. Sara smirked and turned towards the plastic seats lining the hallways with the intension of waiting for the evidence. Instead she found a stack of items in sealed evidence bags waiting for them. "Good. You've already got the evidence. We're set to go then," she walked over and picked up two bags from the pile.

"Yes ma'am," he picked up the rest and they started down the hallway side-by-side. After a brief stop by the nurses' station to give Nick's cell number to the attending nurse -- who, to Sara's amusement, turned out to be a rather old, unattractive woman who was very excited to have Nick's phone number-- they headed out.

"Do you have to compete with Warrick for _everything_?" Sara teased as soon as they were out of ear-shot. "He gets a nurse so you have to get an even older, more experienced one?"

"Hey, she was flirting with me," Nick replied smirking. "I can't help it if I'm irresistible… I'm giving off a very powerful feminine vibe today."

A puzzled look crossed Sara's face. "Isn't that a bad thing when you're a guy?"

"Hey," Nick stopped in his tracks. "I didn't think of it that way. I thought she meant 'feminine vibe' as in a vibe that shows how much the ladies love me…" He squished his lips off to one side as he walked to catch up with her again. "Can we pretend that I didn--" a look of indignation crossed Nick's face as he stopped mid-sentence. "I think she was insinuating that I'm a girl re-incarnated… and I _thanked_ her!" Sara burst out laughing.

"You're going to have to tell me the rest of this story when we get back to the motel…" she replied between giggles as they reached Nick's vehicle. He popped the trunk and they threw the evidence in the back.

"Is there anything unmanly about have a wide third eye?" he asked seriously as he shut the trunk.

"I don't think so… there's something unhuman about having a third eye; but not unmanly, per say," she replied, amused that they were actually having this discussion. He caught her eye and gave a secretive smile. "I'm glad I was wrong," Sara spoke quietly, returning his smile.

"Me too," he replied before reaching out and pulling her into another cuddly hug. They held the position for a minute, Sara rubbing soothing circles on his back. "Do I really give off a feminine energy?" Although she couldn't see his face, Sara was sure he was pouting.

"Not from where I'm standing," she grinned.


End file.
